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CONS

VERDICT

When it was announced that XIII was going to be given new life on the App Store it wasn't easy to remain calm, but while a hidden-object adventure game can follow the comic's hefty storyline, it's unable to convey the true tension and intrigue that lies behind it.

Full Review

App Store Info

If you're not familiar with the comic series XIII, it's an intriguing story (not dissimilar to that of The Bourne Identity) and has been kicking around since the early 80s. The Franco-Belgian classic has been given a video game conversion already, but now iOS gamers can get a taste of this spy/conspiracy story for themselves with XIII - Lost Identity.

Publisher Microids already has a history on the App Store, so it's no surprise to see the game taking on aspects of their earlier work as the original storyline is given a hidden-object treatment. As such the game hits the major narrative points and manages to justify the need to hunt for objects by disguising it in the form of adventure objectives.

This part of the game is sadly mundane and unlikely to provide much challenge to genre veterans, though in a neat twist some items are collected and brought over to be used to solve challenges in other areas. These can also trigger additional objectives such as completing logic puzzles and like any good spy story you're subjected to an action sequence or two.

Unfortunately XIII - Lost Identity feels a little too 'by the numbers' and while it's great to experience the story in a new form, the gameplay is far from engaging and only moderately appropriate for a spy thriller storyline.

If you're a fan of the series you may get a kick out of the game, but even as a stand-alone hidden object game it fails to excite.

Description

Imagine waking up to discover you’ve led several different lives.
Based on the comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance.

A man suffering from amnesia is found washed up on a beach by an elderly couple. He has to unravel who he is and where he has come from, the only clue to his identity being the numerals “XIII” tattooed on his neck.

You are XIII, a man with a host of enemies and who faces danger at every turn as he goes in search of his past.

Pursued by mysterious strangers and wanted for the assassination of the President of the United States of America, his life becomes a whirl of conspiracy and intrigue.

Pay close attention to everything around you, because it will no doubt be your only chance to piece together XIII’s enigmatic past.

Just who is XIII?
• A world-renowned license already available on a variety of media platforms
• A series of more than 20 comic books revealing XIII’s story
• More than 350,000 copies of each issue sold within days of their release

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

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